How have the treatments for breast cancer changed from the past 20 years?

Alot!: Chemo: molecular staging leading to more precise targeted therapy; new drugs such as Herceptin (trastuzumab) and aromatase inhibitors. Surgery: increased breast conserving rx, sentinel ln biopsy, oncoplastic surgery, nipple-sparing mastectomy. Radiation therapy: partial breast irradiation (brachytherapy, intraoperative radiation therapy). Prevention: brca testing....Just to a name a few.

By the 1990's...: Breast conservation was proven to be equivalent to mastectomy, and that evidence holds strongly today. Use of sentinel node, and now limiting node dissetion is new. Knowledge of brca, her-2-neu, trastuzumab (herceptin) are since then. Some women now opt for bilateral mastectomy (+/- reconstruction) despite no change in mortality has currency. Chemo with taxanes and neoadjuvant approaches newer.